


Legs of fear

by Silvyavan



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Car Accidents, Demon Deals, First Crush, Monta has to suffer with Sena as the best friend support, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sena Kobayakawa Protection Squad, Sena crushes on people too easily, Sena has to deal with too many things, Sena is afraid of cars, Sena is also a thick skulled idiot who doesn't know flirting even if it sweeped him of his feet, Tags Are Hard, The Devil is a Sneaky Bastard, Touch-Starved, but later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-08-27 14:56:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16704673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvyavan/pseuds/Silvyavan
Summary: After a freak accident during middle school leaves one Kobayakawa Sena traumatized but somehow alive. Now in a compromising position concerning his life, Sena isn't sure if he should live in fear of slipping up or put his life in someone else's hands.Then Mamori reminds him of highschool and suddenly death by demon contract doesn't sound so bad.





	1. Accident

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is prologue and I'm gonna regret this so much.

Sena was unlucky. He was incredibly unlucky. He just didn't think it would be this bad.

He was running from a bunch of thugs when it happened. He'd been running from them for a week now, hoping they'd just leave him alone.

They apparently did not. In fact, his evasion of them had only made them angrier. He had barely gotten out of the classroom unscathed and was now flying through the streets, hoping to get away or at least lose his pursuers.

Shopping districts had given him cover and he was now running though a rural residence area. He didn't know if they were still chasing him but looking back would take his eyes off the road and he was already going at some sort of speed limit.

But he didn't hear them so it was alright to stop, right?

Stopping to catch his breath, he looked around the block. A few people who were giving him weird looks but besides that nothing. A sigh of relief escaped his lungs.

He was safe. For now. He couldn't believe that they actually left him, but he decided not to jinx himself.

He couldn't help but be depressed. Yeah, he'd avoided them but for how long would that last? A month? A semester? A year? He doubted it.

Would Mamori be ashamed of him? Would Riku be ashamed of him? Maybe. Possibly. Definitely.

He sighed to himself. He's having that same conversation in his head again. He already knew the answer. No point in getting caught up over nothing.

'Now just to get back home...' He thought, taking a left. Houses here were lovely but unfamiliar. The streets were wide enough for but lacked zebra crossings. 'That could be dangerous..."

He wondered of he could retrace his steps and hopefully get somewhere familiar-

"LOOK OUT!" Someone yelled out.

Sena's eyes widened, he barely had time to turn his head when a car was already barreling towards him. When did that came from?! Why didn't he hear it?!

His feet pushed against the concrete, adrenaline fueling his muscles before he realized. 'If I jump to the left, I'll get hit by my legs. If I jump to the right, it'll just ram straight into me.'

"It's too late, it's unavoidable now."

And suddenly the world turned dark. Pain seared through his body.

When Sena came to, his head was full of cotton and his ears were ringing. His vision was fuzzy and-

Was he dying? Now? So quickly?

A million thoughts suddenly crossed his mind.

He was dying oh god, this was bad, this was horrible- Was he really just going to die?! He wasn't even in high school yet! He hadn't even got to the point of trying out for entrance exams! He hadn't done anything in his life to make his parents at least-

His parents.

He dreaded thinking about his parents. Their only son, their only child was going to die from a car crash. His dad would be devastated, his mother- he couldn't even imagine.

Would there be a funeral? Was he even recognizable? How would his childhood friend-

"Hey, child with the frizzy hair." Sena realized he can hear again. And that someone was talking to him. "You've gotten yourself into quite the predicament."

A shadowy figure crouched down, shifting his head to look at them. Sena searches for details, traits and other sorts of things but all he sees is a cane in scar ridden hands and a young man who doesn't seem to be all that bothered by the blood seeping through Sena's clothes. Was this person a foreigner? Sena's brain can't exactly fathom that at the moment, not when precious brain matter and blood is seeping out of the side of his skull.

"But do tell me," Red eyes met amber. "Do you want to live?"

Sena pondered over the question. He would live? He could survive-

But something stopped him. Would it- would it really be better if he was still alive? Did he have something he had to do, have any responsibilities to uphold?

Nothing came up.

What was he to the world? He's not sure how Mamori saw him anymore. Maybe he looked like a meek animal in need of protection that she felt obliged to protect? Was he a burden on her back? Was she better off without having to hold his hand everywhere?

Maybe.

Would anyone come to his funeral? He's not sure if it would even be necessary. Would Riku remember him? Would he be heartbroken by the news of his death? Does he even remember him? Or did he forget?

Possibly.

What about his parents? He wasn't really good at anything, or passionate. He just was. He simply existed. And he'd probably still simply exist. There wasn't anything he could make his parents proud with. But would they be happy? Happy that their only child, who tried to be something of person, was dead?

No. But is it really better that way?

"No-Not really." He croaked out. "But my parents would be sad."

"Wow, that's it?" The person seemed surprised.

"That and my childhood friends."

"No ambitions? No life goals? Anything like that?"

"All i can do," Sena breathed out. "is run fast."

"Well, that's not perfect, but it's enough." The voice said and the next thing Sena felt was nothing but pain, hot blistering pain. "Let's hope you don't end up like the others, Mister Empty Legs."

Sena passed out for the second time that day.

The second time Sena wakes up, it's to something small and sharp poking his face. Continuesly.

Sena groaned awake, swatting whatever is on his face away. There was soft cooing from ahead of him and the poking returned.

Sena just wanted to sleep for a little longer-

"Ack!"

Suddenly, the memories of last night hit Sena like a truck. His eyes snapped open and he jumped into a sitting position. The cold night's wind was biting into his clothes as city lights were flickering beneath him. A few curious pigeons had stayed behind but it seems that the majority had left. His breathing was ragged. His head snapped back and forth. He was in a park, a park he recognized. It was probably no less than 20 minutes away from him but the sky was no longer blue. The sun was already setting on the horizon, leaving a faint orange hue on the surroundings.

He looked over himself. Clothes? Check. Bag? Check. Copious amounts of injury? None.

Was-? Was that car crash just a nightmare? Did he trip, fall on his head and simply stayed that way for a few hours? Or was he hallucinating because some form of monster had slipped something into his-

The longer he thought, the more tense he got and his hands clenched. He felt paper in his hands.

Looking down, he noticed there was an envelope tucked in his hands. Words written in blue ink caught his attention.

_"To Mister Empty Legs."_

His eyes widened. That name! So what happened wasn't a dream?! He- he-

He actually died...

But he's still there.

Questions and erratic thoughts plagued Sena's mind.

Was he a zombie now?! Did he have cravings for flesh that would kill the people around him?! Or was he ghost possessing a human body? Could he even grow in it anymore? Is he going to spend the rest of his life as a human midget?!

But most of all, would he age? Would he still be able to age or will he be forced to see everyone grow, gain families and-

Sena was hyperventilating. Shaky hands dropped the envelope on the bench as he curled himself into a ball. Tears were pickling at his eyes as sobs were ripping themselves from his throat.

"Hey, are you okay?" A firm hand rested upon his shoulder. Sena tensed upon the contact. He didn't even hear the person. Whipping his head around, he saw a black haired teen, probably about 15 or 17, he couldn't tell or maybe he just didn't have anymore energy. The teen looked...tired. Not tired in terms of exhausted but tired in terms of emotion.

'Me too.' Sena thought. Sour thoughts were almost consistently present now.

"I - I," Sena croaked. "I don't know. I just, don't know."

"Something bad happened I assume." Sighed the teen. He plopped down next to Sena's back. "I'm Takeru."

"Sena."

"Sena? That's a nice name." Mused Takeru.

"How? It doesn't mean anything special." Sena brought his knees closer to himself.

"Well, I'm not one to know, but it's a good name. It's short but memorable."

"You don't have to." Sena knew where this was going. "I'm not going to... do what you think I was gonna do."

"Still. You seem to have had just as bad of a day as me. Misery loves company as they say."

"Doubt it." Sena mumbled. He doubts that anyone would have experienced something as bad as dying and still breathing.

"I got kicked out of my dream school from abroad." Except that. "Worst part is I didn't even know why. They just...kicked me out. I was one of the best students there, too. But i know it's because somebody who was higher up just hated me." Wow, that was even worse. He felt Takeru turn to him. "Y'see, I'm into this sport that's pretty specialized and demands good physique. I really liked this one sport, heck, I got into that school through a recommendation of how good I was! But in that school, there was this one guy, a real asshole if I can say, who just thought that "if you're not born at the top, why bother climbing up?". And that pissed me off so much! But I grit my teeth and just kept going and going on with my training. Then, one morning, Bam! I get hit with all these accusations and weird charges I didn't commit and they want me to drop out! And worst part is, he had the nerve to boast in front of my face! The nerve of some people!"

"That's horrible!" Sena exclaimed, tears now forgotten. "You shouldn't have your future ripped away just like that. And only because-" His voice died down in his throat.

"Yeah but it doesn't seem as bad as what you probably had. I don't know how bad your day must have been."

"I..." Sena hesitated. He couldn't say anything about what happened but still. He wanted at least someone to know how he felt. A stranger with no strings. " I lost a close relative today. He was...very important to me."

"I- oh, my condolences."

"He and I were very close, even if we rarely saw eye to eye." He couldn't understand even himself sometimes. You were told to stand up for yourself, yet you couldn't. "He was a coward even if he tried to be someone else. He often couldn't go anywhere without someone else because a lot of people kept picking on him. He got chased around and was made to do whatever someone told him to. He couldn't say no."

"But he always did it for others, right?" Asked Takeru as he placed a warm hand on his back. It was a gentle, comforting even. Most of the physical contact he had other boys his age were punches or threatening arm slings. Sena was caught off guard. It felt...nice. Overwhelming but nice. "That person sounds like someone who, while a coward, would rather suffer himself than let others suffer because of him."

A warm feeling creeped up in his chest. Had Sena not felt emotionally constipated, he would have wanted to hold the feeling as close as possible.

"No, he wasn't!" Snapped Sena. "He was a coward who couldn't grow a backbone, he couldn't even muster up the courage to tell a few classmates to leave him alone and look where that got him!"

Sena tried to stifle a choke. He wasn't anything like what Takeru was thinking. He just wasn't.

"I'm sorry. I... I need to go. My parents are probably worried."

"...Yeah, okay." And with that, Sena grabbed his bag and letter and sped off to the exit of the park. For some reason, the ground seemed firmer and he could feel his usually fast pace go by smoother. Why was it like that? It's almost as if gravity had less impact on him.

"Oh! By the way!" Yelled Takeru. Sena halted in his steps and turned his head. "I like that tatoo on your neck! It's really elegant! If we ever meet again, could you tell me where you got it?"

Sena felt his blood turn cold. Tatoo?! On his neck?! What the hell?!

"S-suregottago _bye!_ " Sena yelled as he ran to the exit at breakneck speed. Only to stop in front of a crossing. His muscles stiffed on their own.

His body didn't want to move, still replaying that half second of momentum and ripples of pain.

Sena shivered. When did it get so cold? And what if a car came out of nowhere again? What if there was another crash with more victims? What if-

He really didn't want to get hit by a car again. Looking around himself, he saw a familiar alleyway and immediately ran in.

Before he made his way into a familiar neighborhood, he stopped by a closed shop. He undid his collar and-

There. From his collarbone to the base of his Adams apple, orange swirls, circles and dots marked his skin. It was bright, eye catching and just screamed delinquent.

_When did he get this? How did he get this?!_

If he wasn't already dead, his mother would kill him.

He poked at it, only to feel an almost too warm sensation. That was not normal.

But Sena would worry about the definition of normal later, once he's survived the day without landing in another near-death situation. Metaphorical or not. If it happened once, than what's stopping it from happening again?

He redid his collar and jacket, hitching it up as much as he could without it falling back (thank whoever decided on dress code he was still in middle school and had to wear gakurans). After that, it was a mad dash home. Well, not really, more like a mad dash to avoid the street at all costs.

As he stopped in front of his front door, he wondered. Even as his body moved on autopilot, he could only imagine the consequences. He didn't even check his phone before running off home, his mother is probably worried, dad's already back home.

This was going to be bad.

Opening the door, he barely had the time to announce his presence when his mother came running out into the hallway.

"Sena!" Oh no, he knew that voice. She looked mad before she looked over him and both fear and relief filled her eyes. "Sena, what happened to you?!"

Only now did Sena realize that his clothes looked absolutely horrible, tattered and dirty, missing fabric in a few places.

"M-mom, I- I can explain-"

"Sena, do you know what hour it is?! Where were you? And what happened?!" Mihae demanded. His father had walked into the hall, with Pitt hot on his heels. The vat then quickly trotted up to Sena and was meowing up a storm. However, the minute the cat got to Sena it sniffed him and immediately began to yowl. The cat was now clawing up his pants, almost as if demanding something.

_Does Pitt know?_

"Pitt! Stop that!"

"Mom-" Sena wanted to say but his heart was pumping in blood far too hot for his liking. His tongue started spinning lies as he went. "I- I think somebody tried to mug me."

"You think?!"

"Wel- well, they were driving a car-"

"And?!" Mom was beginning to look terrified.

"They kept trying to hit me, I think. But they wouldn't leave me alone."

Mihae's eyes were close to spilling tears.

"I, I think somebody tried to run over me. A few times."

"How many times?!" Sena's father finally said.

"What time is it?" Sena asked, trying to think of a logical answer. Think, Sena, think. What would a psychotic driver would have tried to do?

"Eight. Eight o'clock."

"..." Sena's brain barely registered the words that came out of his mouth. "I think I kept running from him till seven."

* * *

Sena groans into the water as he recalled what had happened almost half an hour ago. His parents had reacted both in alarm and wrath, with Sena just barely managing to convince them that he didn't have any injuries, no he didn't get hit, he managed to avoid certain death, no he did not see who was chasing him, he's perfectly fine, no need to involve the police, Dad.

And now his mother had demanded that he cleaned himself up. He looked like he had just crawled out of a ditch.

Pitt patted the water next to Sena. The cat had refused to let Sena out of its sight, even if it meant hiding in the hamper to wait for him to wash. Pitt...has never been this clingy. Or even this attention seeking.

"What's the matter, Pitt?" He finally asked. He raised a hand to the cat, who pressed it's head to it, despite being wet. It shifted in his hand so that its ear would be pressed towards his pulse-

Oh. So that's it. Pitt must have found what they were looking for, because in the next moment they retreated into the hamper.

Sena sighed as he thought back to what happened today.

First he sort of died. Somehow, the fact still chilled him to his core. The warm water only made him even more unnerved. The fact wasn't enough to drive him into tears but it felt close. Just too close for comfort.

His thoughts drifted to Takeru. The boy who had, in some sort, lifted the a small weight off his shoulders.

He remembered his dark hair, tall complexion and sharp eyes.

_"But he did it for others, right?"_

His eyes were sharp, full of emotion and pride. He carried himself with pride but didn't flaunt it.

Sena closed his eyes. The warmth of his hand on his back was still there. He traced his fingers on the spot, trying to remember the notion.

How long has it been since he had a friend who wasn't violent with him? Sure, there was Mamori but Mamori didn't have a single bad bone in her body! At least he thought so. Plus, Takeru was a guy. A guy who didn't try to beat the hell out of him or threaten him into doing things for him. Was Takeru even his friend?

He saw Takeru looking back at him, eyes soft and-

 _"You do it for them?"_  Sena saw Takeru brushing his hands against his cheek, the motion was barely felt for only half a second. Those eyes that were full of pride but that pride was directed at him.

Sena snapped his eyes awake and nearly fell backwards into the tub. His heart was pounding and the warm feeling was back in his chest.

Oh.  _Oh._

_No, this was bad._

First, because Takeru and he met by chance and they'll probably never come across each other again. These- these feelings would rot him from the inside out before they could meet again.

Second, Takeru was a guy. He just doesn't know what to think of that because Sena's general association with tall, cool and kind looking guys is a liar who's too lazy to get off his ass. He... Is not sure if he should follow his heart that's beating in his chest or the brain in his head telling him Takeru would leave him for dead from experience.

Third, he only just met him! Just barely met him! Logic states that one cannot fall in love just from one talk but Sena quickly realizes he's bad at math, thus bad at logic.

What if it's a crush? Just a simple crush. Alright, alright. This is probably a crush and crushes can go away if you don't think about it too hard. Okay. Yeah, that's probably it. And since Takeru and he will probably never see each other again, he'll get over this crush long before he gets into high school. Great.

Sighing, he decided to get out of the tub. It was already late and he had school tomorrow, which meant doing homework that he was inevitably going to suffer with. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the scales. He rarely checked his weight but that lightness he felt while running. Carefully walking to the scales, he stepped on them to wait for the result. Last time he checked he weighed somewhere around 48 kilos.

The scales stopped at a number.  _38 kilos_. To which Sena's mind promptly came to a screeching halt.

That... couldn't be right. Or healthy. He weighed at least 45 kilos. Why was he suddenly ten kilos lighter. That's probably an arm's worth of mass! Stuff like that just doesn't dissappear! Ten kilograms don't just dissappear in who knows how many hours!

A deep fear made itself known in Sena. That man who said he'd help him survive-

Just what did he do to Sena?

The humid air was bitting into his skin but Sena felt like he was burning on the spot.

* * *

When Sena came back down for some reheated dinner and more questions for his well being, he was more intent on going back upstairs to open that letter.

Homework was all but forgotten as Sena grabbed a sharp pencil and began to rip a hole into the envelope. Upon being ripped open, a folded piece of paper fell out. Sena grabbed it and began looking over the words written on it.

" _Dearly valued client,_

_You are reading this because you have been visited by Belial services, due to the fact that you have unfortunately nearly passed away. However, due to the generous favour of our CEO, you have been granted a second chance for a discount price!_

_If this text is written in red, then you will no doubt experience changes in yourself that give you superhuman statistics, due to your strong will to live and ambitions!_

_If this text is written in blue, then you will no doubt experience changes that show that you are now able to function without specific organs/extremities/senses or are able to regenerate them, due to your weak will to live (please seek a therapist)_." Sena realizes that the text is written in blue and wonders if he was caught by organ traffickers. Does getting life advice from organ traffickers can be considered a therapy session?

_"Your current properties that you are able to live without - bones! While you will be able to function like any normal human, your bones will have the characteristics of practically not being there! However, to use this to your maximum caliber, a person/people other than you is to call your name backwards thrice. The minute your name backwards is said, you will have 24 hours to say goodbye to your loved ones as one of our contractors will seek you out to collect your soul, preferably the one who found you dead. Think wisely before doing so._

_Kind regards, Belial Services for the Dying."_

Sena's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He was missing bones?! Or, at least was given the impression that he had none?! What the hell was this! And who named their own company that?! Was he visited by a Shinigami?!

Sena tried to calm down, rereading the letter. Bones are now practically not there, cool, dangerous but cool.

What if he breaks his bones? What if they take him to the hospital for a check up? Things such as "bones weighing little to nothing" was already enough to be scared for. Would that mean that he'd die if he got even a little hurt?

"What would it matter?" Sena asked himself bitterly. "I'm already dead, aren't I?

"Maybe I'll stay till highschool?"


	2. Hiruma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sena gets another crush and begins to regret his choice of educational institutions.

Hiruma knew an uncut diamond when he saw one. There's always that one part that made them stand out- the way they walk, the way they talk or even the way they analyzed the crowd, it always showed.

What bothered him truly, was why the fuck did he not notice the 21-karat red diamond that was Kobayakawa Sena, who was in Maou middle for three fucking years, until he literally ran in front of him.

It had been a simple grocery run to Hiruma which ended with him watching the five foot nothing shrimp plow through the crowd at a speed that made the wind pick up. If by some damned chance Hiruma hadn't noticed the kid, then it seemed like mother nature would get him to look. The shrimp made sharp turns and twists all over the crowd, clutching his bag to his chest. There was a wild, manic look in his eyes as they surveyed the crowd. There's no doubt that there was a clear run through the crowd into the street which lead to the subway, but the shrimp would have to go at full fucking speed and would that be-

But one look at the street and Kobayakawa had run the opposite direction. There was a hitch in his footwork, a flash of fear in his eyes and he immediately decided to go the long way to the subway.

Which was to say through the back alleyways.

What the fuck?

Was there something in the street that made him go the other way? A quick sweep of his eyes on the street concluded that no, there wasn't even the threat of a dog there. So what made that shrimp take a longer, more tiring path than going the quickest way to safety?

Hiruma's legs moved on their own when he ran after the student. He knew he couldn't catch up but as long as he had his eyes on him, that was enough. He needed to see this for himself.

And saw he did.

The shrimp ran like the fucking devil himself was chasing him. Jumping on stairways, cutting through crowds and damn near jumping over cars - Hiruma had almost forgotten how to breathe.

That run right there was 4.3 seconds, at least. Pure and unfiltered runningback material. An uncut diamond, internally flawless, river clear and tinted in that rare red colour that was so hard to find in the world, that was made only through training paved in blood.

And if Kobayakawa Sena was that type of diamond, which he knew he was, Hiruma would cut and polish that into a jewel so bright, the Luxembourg Museum of Diamonds would feel shame.

Homework, or even anything concerning school, was forgotten as Hiruma went through school records upon school records to look for information.

It was the beginning of the year, so chances are that if the shrimp had decided to go to a school that wasn't Deimon, Hiruma would pull some strings that were a little too heavy for his tastes but still.

He's pretty sure he was the only person who noticed that potential. Good. If anyone from a track club in any other school had seen that, Hiruma was partially sure he'd have to get into a fist fight for that kid.

Lo and behold, Deimon was the shrimp's first choice school. The menacing grin that split on Hiruma's face was big enough to hurt.

By ten o'clock, Hiruma had everything on the shrimp, from his bullying problem to his Deimon test scores, as average as they were, dropping at English and Maths.

Grades were shit, surprisingly good at sport but only the running type, is almost always coddled by that girl from the committee, five foot nothing, about 50 kilos and-

Terrified of  _cars_?

That raised some questions. Seeing as how he was a gopher most of his life, did that mean he had to run through traffic just to get on time?

Now that he thought about it, it did explain why he avoided the street that time and traveled by train every time.

But the more he dug, the more worried he became.

Refuses to go to the nurse's office. Wore the gakuran throughout the whole third year of middle school. Joined the occult club and left the same week. More often than not looks apathetic to bullies but still runs and tries not to get hit. Comparing second year and third year pictures from the records, Kobayakawa looked like fucking shit in third year, eye bags and a surpressed manic smile coupled by a bandage on his face - the whole fucking package.

For fucks sake, just what sort of dip in attitude did this shrimp cake go through in the last year of Maou?

He'll have to do that later, maybe force the answer out of him.

After all, the best information comes from the source. And if Kobayakawa Sena is to be next Eyeshield 21, then he needed to be on the top of whatever performance he has.

_As they say, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body and vice versa._

_Ya-ha_!

* * *

Sena wasn't sure if rushing to the school was worth it. The underlying feeling of dread and fear kept his legs moving until Deimon was in sight. He'd managed to get on time, sure but was he really going to get in? Deimon wasn't exactly a bad school with little to no students, but Mamori had him prepare for the entrance exam almost a month prior to it.

Sena was terrified of the notion of even getting out of bed when exam day rolled up. But he somehow managed to write the exam, even if the fingers in his hands kept telling him 'it won't matter, it hasn't mattered for six months already, why should it matter now?'.

He never told Mamori or his parents the truth. He just couldn't, not after seeing their reactions about the sugar coated lie. Especially Mamori's, who'd practically glued herself to him for two weeks whenever she wasn't in school. The constant worrying, paranoia and overprotective nature made it seem like she was the one targeted.

That didn't mean she didn't notice his shift in behavior. Avoiding cars and the street in general was something she ignored. Or chose to ignore. Sena never knew. Either way, she never questioned it. Forgetting his lunch almost every day and walking as if the ground could swallow him up and he wouldn't care was something she noticed.

Long story short, Mamori felt like it was her fault that he "got mugged in the worst way possible". Sena had tried to convince her it was his own fault but that seemed only to break her heart more. Sometimes Sena wondered if it were better if he had just died that day.

But Sena kept telling himself that no, Mamori may be extremely worried now, but he just has to try and somehow live until she graduates, goes to a top of the line university- it's what she deserves- and for her to forget about him overall. Because this worrying can fade. It will fade.

If Sena had truly died that day, Mamori would have never forgiven herself.

He couldn't do that to her. He shouldn't. She's strong, he knows that, but knowing an important person died because of a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided will hurt anyone.

It's even more so for his  _parents_ -

"Sena! Over here!" Sena's head whipped around to see Mamori in the crowd. Sena rushed over to her, standing near a large bulletin board.

"Just in time too. They put out the list of first years." Mamori said. "Your English and Maths were pretty bad, but you were always Mamori-sensei's favorite student."

"Maybe but that doesn't mean I'll get in just for that. I'm pretty sure I failed- I should just leave-" Sena said. He really, really didn't want to stay. There was an underlying feeling dread and misery radiating from the entire school. Like something was watching him in particular.

"Not true! You studied hard, I'm sure you got in. What's your number?"

"It's 021. Mamori, you really don't have-"

"There!"

Mamori pointed to the number 021, conveniently placed on the roster with the people who passed.

"I- I made it in." Sena said, voice hinting at both disappointment and astonishment. He really got in. The number on the board matched his. He wasn't expecting to pass, or rather he didn't want to pass, but-

Was he really just tired from the anticipation? Yeah, maybe that was it.

"Anyway, hopefully this year will go by better." Mamori said with a sad smile.

"I wouldn't count on it." Sena laughed bitterly. "Knowing my luck, it'll be a week at most before something happens."

"Sena, that's not true. Maybe in Maou middle there was a bullying problem but the committee isn't as strict there. This year will be better." Mamori said as she put a hand on Sena's shoulder. Sena wanted to say more but the menacing feeling was growing stronger.

"Anyway I have a committee meeting soon, so I have to run. Can I trust you to at least look over some of the clubs?" Mamori pointed out. Sena nodded soberly. He could try and at least get interested in a club. Maybe that might cheer Mamori up.

Sena had always felt a little bit responsible for what followed after the crash. Okay maybe quite a bit responsible. Or very much responsible. If he hadn't taken a wrong turn...

"Alright, bye Sena!" Mamori called out before running towards the school building.

"Ah, bye!" He said, waving goodbye.

Truth be told, Sena's experience with clubs was very... _limited_. The only club he's ever been in was Maou's occult club and that was only because of necessary research. Such as borrowing their entire demonology encyclopedia stash and rummaging page through page, hoping to never find the name that man and that Belial services were called that simply because they had some occultism motif.

Sena had been proven wrong and in his eyes he'd practically solidified his fears of being dead. The only thing that was different was the fact that after his soul leaves his body, somebody is going to drag him into hell to suffer for dying early in life.

But hey, at least there were no demons in the school.

"No, that would be stupid." Sena said to himself. Demons don't go to school. Or rather Sena's never met one in school. Were the ones who hid among students harder to spot? Or were they all business oriented?  _Maybe-_

As Sena's eyes trailed along the building he spotted someone hiding behind the corner-

Sena's knees immediately felt rigid and his eyes widened. He's partiatlly sure his heart is being drowned in adrenaline because, God, why him. It  _couldn't_ -

There's no way he just saw a demon. But that person's piercing eyes, sharp teeth and pointy ears, of all things, were making warning bells ring in his head. Sena's hands flew to his eyes to rub them haphazardly-

_Nope_! He's not hallucinating! This is  _ **real**_! This is reality and the demon with the horrid expression has a friend the size of a car!

Both of which are headed his way!

Sena tried not to curse on any occasion but shit!

Sena didn't even realize he was running before he heard somebody yelling at him not to run in the halls. Wait, the halls?

Sena's legs skidded to a halt and he was panting. Not from exercise, but from the fear and panic that was causing his legs to suddenly gain a mind of its own. He wasn't hyperventilating but he was close.

Sena realized he was close to entering the sports building and that he had ran across the entire school building without much thought. The passage was overall empty but that could mean anything.

Okay that was  _bad. This was bad._

There's a demon in the school, a demon who has a scary looking friend and does that mean he's already been caught?

Do they know? Is that why they were walking towards him? Or did they have some business in that direction?

Sena's mind was running circles around itself.

Wait, maybe this is all a misunderstanding. Maybe they were looking at somebody else that was behind him! Yeah that had to be-

"Where do you think you're going, shrimp?!"

Sena's head whipped around to see the devil running straight at him and Sena wondered if this is how he's going to die.

Sena's legs immediately went into overdrive and he jumped out of the passage and began running towards the building.

Maybe if he asked one of the clubs, he could hide in one of their rooms for the day and in return get them lunch for a month. Wouldn't be a bad start.

Sena dove into the building and ran through the halls until his eyes saw the first room.

_Basketball club._

The door rattled as he flung it open, causing the three members inside to look at him.

"You have to hide me! Please!" Sena exclaimed. He probably looked like a mess but who cared honestly, his survival was at stake here. "There's somebody chasing me and-"

"Whoa, whoa slow down, buddy. Calm down, talk slowly." One of the members - a third year - raised his hands in a motion while watching him.

"There's this scary guy, he has sharp teeth and blond hair-" Sena said as he entered the room and tried to close the door.

"Sharp teeth?!"

"Blond hair?!" The other two members exclaimed.

"Did he have pierced ears and an aura that just screamed "demon"?" The third year went rigid.

"Yes!" Sena exclaimed. "Please, he's chasing me and-"

"Kid, you're a first year?" Asked the third year. Sena shook his head in affirmation. The third year grabbed his shoulders. "Word of advise - if Hiruma Yoichi is after you, don't bother hiding. Just run, run for life and don't look back."

Sena has never felt so afraid in his life. The name didn't even register in his head. The person who was chasing him wasn't just horrifying to him, he was horrifying enough to have a reputation. A well known reputation.

"Now get the hell out of-"

The door was kicked open. Sena didn't need to turn around and see who it was.

Scratch that, now Sena has never felt so afraid in his whole life.

Sena ripped himself from the grip and ran for the window.

'I'm on the first floor, I can-'

It never crossed Sena's mind that the window might have been closed and Sena ended up running into a wall of pain and bounced off into a stray desk, falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

A long whistle could be heard from the room.

"Don't destroy whatever braincells you have left, shrimp. We need a walking typhoon like you with a sane mind, ya hear?!" Sena heard footsteps approach him. Sena's heart was beating inside his head and his joints felt the need to move and run until they'd fall off. Heat was spreading through his fingers to his palm, from his toes to his ankle.

"Please don't kill me." Sena blurted out from under the mess.

There was a moment of silence before a loud boisterous laugh erupted from above.

"Clean your ears shrimp, we need you well and alive. And by that i mean less well and more alive. So tell me," The voice leaned down and Sena came face to face with the demon that was Hiruma Yoichi.

"How much do you know about american football?"

Sena's mind came to a halt. He had heard about american football, yes, but only the bare minimum. If this was a test that determined if he would be dead or alive, he'd try to at least get a right answer, as vague as it could have been.

"Y-you get the ball."

"What goes next?"

"You run, t-to the goal."

"Continue."

"But you get hit a lot."

"How many points for a touchdown?"

"More than one?"

The blond demon stared at him for a moment before an evil expression appeared on his face.

"Good enough, shrimp! Tomorrow morning, seven o'clock. If you're late for even a minute," Hiruma paused before jabbing his shotgun in Sena's direction "Let's just say you won't missing for long."

Sena was terrified enough to pass out. The last thing he felt before the world turned black was getting picked up by the collar and the distinct question "Wait,  _why are you so fucking light?!"_.

* * *

When Sena woke up, he was no longer in the sports building. No, instead he was lying on something very hard with a soothing hand rubbing his back.

That- felt nice. It felt a lot like when Takeru helped him somewhat survive the day that was six months ago. Warm, firm, understanding and most of all, honest. But something about it was different. Maybe the tempo? No, it must have been the shape of the hand. This one was thinner than Takeru's, rough edges appearing along the fingertips. Takeru's hands were stronger, a bit thicker with a layer of muscle covering the bones. There was the shape of- oh great, he's thinking about Takeru again. For all the six or so months that have passed, Sena had absolutely failed in getting Takeru out of his head. In fact, the more he tried to get rid of him, the more he thought about those  _sharp eyes and the way the sunset made him glow-_

_No!_  Stop, brain! That's counterproductive!

The hand had left Sena's back and the small runner had almost attempted to reach out for it.

"Hiruma, maybe we should wake him up before noon, he can't be absent the whole day. Someone will notice."

"I'm trying, fatass."

Instead, the rigid hand had moved from Sena's back to his cheek. At that point, Sena's mind had thrown all logic to the wind.

Sena had rarely let anyone touch his face. Both out of fear of his parents and Mamori seeing bruises that were hard to hide and out of the fear that someone would manage to see the tattoo that Sena had tried so desperately to hide since the day he got it. The only hands that were allowed near his face were his and his alone.

So when the rigid hand cupped his cheek, Sena all but melted into the hold. Calloused and bony fingers, no doubt from lots of work in either crafts or making small parts of machinery. A wide palm, muscular, probably good at throwing things. Sena nuzzled the hand, softly whining at the contact. Firm, warm and strong. It felt so nice. Sena almost fell asleep in the hold.

"...Hey, fatass, your dad sometimes consoles the people that come to him for advice right? This is definitely a sign of domestic abuse."

"Hiruma, my father's a monk, not a therapist. And maybe he's simply starved for affection?"

Sena really wished the voices above him would quiet down so he could sleep...just a bit...more... He nuzzled the firm hand as the thumb went over his lips and onto the other cheek to grip his face. The hold may seem authoritative but for some reason Sena felt safe in these hands.

"For a little shit who lost a fourth of his weight in six months, he's got soft cheeks. Fuck it, you wake him up. I have research to do and a match to plan. If anyone else tries to drag the shrimp into a club, stop them."

And with that the hand left. Sena let out a small whine at the loss of contact. His face was now pressed against something smooth and cold, like the mats they used in gym.

There was the creek of a door and a close before a large hand gently shook him awake.

"Excuse me? Kobayakawa? You need to wake up, lunch is almost over." A gentle but strong voice said as the shaking continued.

Wakefulness was coming back to Sena as he opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" Sena pondered. His eyes hurt from the light coming into the room. He looked at the person who was helping him. It was a student from Deimon, judging by the uniform. The boy was helping him sit up on...whatever he was lying on. His head still hurt, no doubt from flying head first into a window.

"You're in in the American football club house. We carried you here after you passed out since the nurse technically doesn't work on the first week. Do you think you can stand up?" The boy was holding him by his forearm with his other hand on his back.

"Yeah, i- I think I can. You," Sena wasn't really thinking at this point but the words were all but coming out of his mouth. "have very rigid hands."

The student, looked confused as Sena stood up. The student then took his hand away and looked at it quizzically. Sena also glanced at the hand and- oh. That was certainly not a rigid hand, not with how soft looking it was.

"Oh, do you mean the hand that was before that?" The student suddenly asked. Sena all but nodded. "That wasn't mine. That was Hiruma's. He was the one that suggested we bring you here. Your run back then was amazing!"

Sena's mind came to a halt once more. Hiruma? That name rung a bell but Sena couldn't quite remember from where. He remembered hearing it from some place... But what Sena is more interested in is Hiruma's hands. A small part of his mind thinks of those long fingers intertwined in his, the firm hold keeping them from slipping away. An even smaller but no less louder part imagines both hands holding his face as Sena  _gazes into whatever eye-_

_Oh. Oh no, please no, not again, he already has his unrequited crush for Takeru to worry about! He doesn't even know what this Hiruma looks like! What if he's a jerk!?_

"Yeah! You ran all across the school in record time! We saw you and just went- whoosh! It was like seeing a bullet fly through the air!" The boy continued. "Hiruma even said complimented you!"

Sena stared at the boy in shock. He was...complemented? For running? He couldn't get his head around that.

'I was complemented for running by this Hiruma.' Sena repeated in his mind. A warmth spread in his chest, something fuzzy and uplifting.

"Well, at least his way of complementing. He described you as a 'fucking whirlwind of destruction' and 'fast enough to make the fucking wind pick up'! That's technically a complement from him." The boy continued.

"He said that?" Sena asked. It sounded like Hiruma had a very...colourful vocabulary but that didn't seem to be a sign of a bad personality, right? There are lots of people who curse but still mean well! Like for example the convenience store owner from Maou middle who he's well acquainted with at this point. The owner even drops the price sometimes during the lunch period but still cussed out the delinquents who ask why it's only for a few hours.

"Yeah." Suddenly the boy realized something important. "Oh right! We haven't introduced ourselves yet! I'm Kurita Ryuokan, second year."

"Ah! I'm Kobayakawa Sena, a first year." Sena replied, taking a low bow. "I'll be in your care?"

"Ah, that's okay Sena. But you should really should head home soon. You've been asleep for almost four hours!" Kurita supplied.

"Four hours?!" Sena nearly screamed. "That's- i-"

"Well, it's a good thing the entrance ceremony isn't today."

"I- well- Y-yeah it certainly is."

"By the way, Sena, are you thinking of joining any clubs?"

"Well, I'm hoping of joining one-" Sena can see Kurita perk up at that. Continuing the sentence almost seemed painful. "But I don't want to do anything sports oriented. I- I'm just no good at that stuff."

If it's one thing that terrified Sena the most about his bones being, well, not there was how was he going to survive physical education. If he was hit with a ball to the chest, there'd be no ribs to protect the organs. If he got punched by a bully, what's stopping his brain from receiving damage? Sena had been avoiding physical education for a while now, until it was unavoidable. The good thing is that none of his organs exploded or crushed in on themselves when he tackled by somebody during one of the games they played. The bad thing was that it hurt so much, Sena nearly blacked out.

'I couldn't even react fast enough keep my life.' He thought bitterly.

"Well, there are other positions in sports clubs which don't have a lot to do with playing the sport. There's the manager. In fact, the American football club has been in need of a manager for a while now!"

"Manager?" Sena's attention was caught. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be in a club, especially a sports oriented one. But Kurita seemed so nice, nicer than most people Sena knows. And that Hiruma-

Damn it brain, stop! Enough with the crushes!

"Yeah, I could fill you in if you want to be the manager, but that could wait for another day. Your parents must be worried!" Kurita supplied, handing Sena his bag. Sena nearly smacked himself. He's been out for hours, no doubt probably forcing the two second years to wait for him to wake up. Of course Kurita would have to go home at some point, as well as Hiruma.

"Right! I guess I'll be going."

Sena was about to reach for the knob before realizing why he was here in the first place.

"Kurita? Can I ask you something about the school?" Sena faced the second year. "Are- are there any demons in this school?"

Kurita was now staring at him. Sena wanted to kick himself for asking such a question.

"You mean like hauntings and curses? No, not that I know of. Surprisingly enough, we're not cursed, even if most of our sports teams aren't doing that well."

Sena's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I guess I'll see you at the ceremony then!" Sena replied as he left the building.

As he walked back home, Sena couldn't help but feel himself tense. If that demon wasn't part of the school,

Then why was he there in the first place?


	3. Hiruma 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sena sees the shitshow he is now in and a small glimpse into the future

Sena had begun to look forward to school. Less forward to school and more forward to what it brought for once.

He kept trying to narrowly avoid Juumonji and his two friends, seeing as how they became less insisted on bullying and more focused on what happened that day when he died.

They began to question him, corner him and demand answers and kept doing that more than telling him to get lunch with the threat of a punch to the face. He never knew how they got ahold of the information but when they did, Juumonji had all but started hunting him down for answers. So Sena ran from him as much as he could.

But that was middle school. Sena was now in highschool, and hopefully Juumonji and his friends went to another school, hopefully on the other side of town.

The hopes of that drop like a rock when Juumonji corners him at the school after homeroom.

Sena felt stupid for jinxing himself. The day had gone surprisingly calmly and he would have gone to the football clubhouse to talk to Kurita if Juumonji would have just stopped prying about everything.

"Hey, answer me, Kobayakawa!" Sena came back from his wistful thoughts when Juumonji shook him by his shirt. That was going to need to be ironed later. He's glad he started investing in concealers because no way in hell was the collar of his shirt going to protect him forever.

"I- I didn't hear the question." Sena replied, avoiding looking at Juumonji, focusing more on the view behind him. Like the soccer field that was currently occupied by the football club's first training of the year. Tryouts were going on.

"You know the question damn well. Now answer." Juumonji shouted at him.

Sena sighed. The encounters with Juumonji were terrifying at first but now they feel like ripping off a bandage.

This was highschool. Six months ago Sena couldn't even stomach the idea of getting to highschool alive, wondering if those red eyes would just come out of nowhere one day and demand payment. He still does. He still gets dreams about it. Some weren't half as bad. Some he couldn't even remember correctly. Some were vivid ightmares of dark streets and flashing lights kept him up at night, waking him at early hours with his body pumping adrenaline for a threat that wasn't there.

'But was it?' Sena always asked himself. Paranoia made him reluctant to investigate. Guilt made him reluctant to talk about it. The future made him feel like he was walking on a crumbling floor.

Either way, Sena had wanted to do something for the first time in his life. Or maybe that's just the promise he gave to Mamori talking. He's not sure. Maybe he wants to be someone more. Maybe he doesn't want be a complete disappointment to Mamori while she's still in touch with him. Six months of avoiding people was...calm.

"Juumonji." Sena started. "Why?"

"Hah?"

"Why- why do you care so much? Why do you care what happened to me?"

"What do you-"

"No, what do you mean?!" Sena exclaimed. He wasn't going to be an asshole in front of what could be the first friend he's made in years by standing him up. "Why do you care, Juumonji?! Why do you care about someone you hate?!"

That caught Juumonji off guard. His grip on the shirt slackened and his eyes widened. It almost seemed like he was panicking.

"You treated me like one of your delivery boys for all of middle school. You made me late for classes, you bullied me, sometimes you even beat me up. I don't know how you were raised or who your parents are but,"

There was a boiling heat at the back of Sena's throat, like a glass of hot lead just wanting turn everything into ash. Sena shoved it down.

"But to me," Sena croaked. "It seems like you just don't care that much about me. So why? Why then? Why now?"

Juumonji's hand had let go of him but Sena still refused to look at him.

"I-"

Before he could finish, a gunshot rang from the clearing.

* * *

Hiruma had gotten a little more than pissed off when the shrimp hadn't shown up in the morning. Even more so when he didn't show up after the entrance ceremony. The fucking fatty was getting depressed too. Something wasn't adding up. If the shrimp was looking forward being part of the club, manager position be damned, he was going to show up to the club in the first place.

The shrimp had things to do, like run the forty yards for the runningback position to prove to the fatty what he meant and answering his questions/interrogation as to why the fuck he looked at Hiruma like he was the fucking devil. Yes, his reputation was an omen to all but not that fucking much.

So Hiruma went hunting. And what did he find? One of those weird ass synchronized brothers was pushing him up against the wall as the shrimpcake was trying to grill him with psychological questions. The one who was known to stalk the shrimp cake back in middle school.

This will not do. If the blond was making the future ace late, he was going to pay for it accordingly.

The first shot was to get their attention. When the shrimp looked at him, he went pale (again? he better not fucking run this time), pushed Juumonji to his right and told him to run.

A good introduction as to what is to come but as they say, if Hiruma could say. But time was of the essence and the shrimp was already late.

The blond apparently did not take the shrimp's reaction well.

"I suggest you listen to him or you'll end up like the others." The shrimp's muscles clenched as if he just wanted to go and run to the other side of town. Like he wanted to just run and run until he couldn't anymore. Like Hiruma was something that he'd rather choose death for.

Hiruma has seen this type of behavior in very few cases. The time when somebody who knows exactly what's about to happen and is trying to put himself in between the threat and another person. Dogs with abusive owners that got new ones, good ones, often got in between the abuser and the owner. Like they know what's about to happen but better themselves than somebody else.

To know that Kobayakawa Sena was terrified of him, like he's about to gut him on the spot, brought Hiruma a new type of revelation. Kobayakawa Sena has experienced something bad enough that just the sight of Hiruma is enough to put him into a state of utter fear.

Somebody took this one of a kind diamond and made it so that Hiruma couldn't even  _touch_  it without putting a crack in it.

_Oh, the desire to kill somebody was growing by the minute._

"Why the fuck should I? You know this guy, Kobayakawa?" Kobayakawa kept looking at the guy like a fish grew out of his ear.

"Juumonji, what are you- nevermind, just- get out of here! Now!" The shrimp was now trying to push him to the other direction. This was going nowhere. Hiruma started walking towards them. The shrimp took this as a warning count down. "Juumonji, please, I'm begging you. Just- go home. Please."

That  _please_  at the end. Fuck. It sounded so broken. Hiruma enjoyed making people fear him but shit, not like this.

Who hurt this kid?

Juumonji seemed to take the hint, well enough, and after a moment of silence and a glare directed at him, he left.

The shrimp was just standing, his back to him, shoulders hunched and shaking. His knuckles were turning white and Hiruma could hear his ragged breathing.

Hiruma kept walking until he reached the shrimp.

Fuck, this did not go how he wanted this to go. Okay, time to use those good emotional words Hiruma hates.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Hiruma asked, voice as neutral as possible. The kid fell still, but his breathing had only quickened. Fuck, wrong words. Fuck it, he's doing it the best way he knows how. "Do you know how much the fucking fatass has been getting depressed over you? Why aren't you hauling ass to the clubhouse already?!"

No response just more uneven breathing. Not a good sign.

Hiruma touched Sena's shoulder and Sena all but exploded like a grenade. His legs stumbled out under him, trying to go every direction at once, his eyes were glazed over and looking at anything but him. His breathing went into overdrive and his hands went to his neck. They went to his neck as if to protect from an attack.

This was a full blown panic attack and Hiruma just barely managed to catch him before hit the ground.

God, he forgot how light the shrimp was, too. If Hiruma could pick him up with ease, it meant nothing good.

"For fucks sake,  _breathe you midget!"_

Sena was hyperventilating and shaking, he wasn't responding no matter how much Hiruma shook his shoulders. Suddenly an idea came to mind. If this worked while he was asleep, then it might work now.

His hands went to Sena's face and cupped both of his cheeks. His whole form went rigid but he was calming down. For a while Sena was simply staring at the ground. Tears were forming at the corner of his eyes but he was trying to blink them away.

"I-" Hiruma's ears strained. Alright, coherent words were a good sign.  _"I'm not dead?"_

Back to square one it seems.

"Shrimp, I told you once I'm not saying it again. We need you alive and well." And mentally stable because fucking hell this was bad. Whatever, Hiruma could work on that later. As well as drilling a hole in the shrimp's thick skull. Does anything even go through that thing?

 _"Alive."_  He began. "That's... hard to believe."

Okay, this was just fucking depressing now.

"It is, considering how fucking late you are!"

The shrimp's brow furrowed before the look of horror cast itself on his face. God damn it, not again.

"Kurita! Oh no, how long has it been- nevermind I have to hurry. I can't keep him-" The shrimp all but ripped himself from the hold Hiruma had on him and ran in the direction of the clubhouse. That 4.3 second run again. So the shrimp wasn't planning on chickening out, huh? Saves him the trouble and the blackmailing. Not that he needed it apparently. The shrimp is terrified enough it seems.

Suddenly the shrimp skidded to a halt and turned to him with a low bow.

"I'm- I'm sorry for causing any sort of ruckus and- i- thank you for helping me." The shrimp nearly screamed that out before turning and running all the way back to his original destination.

Hiruma was...a little bit confused. And concerned. Furious was also an adjective for the current predicament.

The shrimp had a panic attack because of him and he's thanking him? Him? And what fucking ruckus is he talking about?

What the fuck?

He glanced down at the gun he had dropped. Fucking shrimpcake was going to be the one cleaning it, that's for sure.

* * *

Sena was feeling a lot of things. Worry.  _Shame. Fear._   _Embarrassment_. Self hatred. And maybe a small sense of relief.

Worry and self hatred because he was supposed to see Kurita and meet Hiruma in the clubhouse almost half an hour ago. He's so stupid, he couldn't believe he got that caught up, maybe he should  _have just told Juumonji and-_

 _No._  No if he told Juumonji everything would have gone on for even longer and Sena couldn't afford to have that.

Because if it had, Sena had enough of a bright imagination to know that Juumonji would have fallen victim to the other demon who was apparently part of the student body. He can only thank whatever conclusion Juumonji had gotten to when he left. Being dead and somehow alive was bad enough. Being dead and alive and dragging a friend into the same horrid disposition would have been hell on earth. He didn't think he'd be able to take it if Juumonji suffered the same fate as he did.

Juumonji had transformed from a regular to bully to a regular interrogator in the span of six months. He didn't hate Juumonji. Juumonji had his own set of horrid problems, from his horrid relationship with his parent to his decision on what he wanted to be in the future. Problems upon problems. If taking it out on Sena helped him, then Sena couldn't hate Juumonji for it. He'd be fine with it.

But the  _demon_. Sena felt so stupid. If a demon was there on the day they put out the results of the entrance exams, then obviously he was either part of the faculty or the student body. He felt stupid for not even considering that.

But then why did Kurita say the school didn't have any curses or demons? Kurita was a second year, if the demon was a second year or third year or even a teacher, then he would have known. But maybe the demon was a first year and Kurita didn't know him before that.  _Or maybe-_

 _Wait_ , what was he thinking? Kurita probably didn't even  _know_  demons existed! Sena hadn't know any better six months ago either, just because he knew now didn't mean somebody else knew.

What did a demon even _do_  in high school? Get a degree? Hunt unsuspecting teens for souls? Just nothing to do overall?

For all Sena knew, it could have been anything. He couldn't find a trace of the company that brought him back from the dead, but the letter was still tucked away in his room, hidden from any sort of eyes because after a month of staring at it Sena felt sick just by thinking about it. It said "if anybody said your name backwards thrice". Sena read it as  _"who knows, maybe tomorrow!"._

Either way, Sena was barely past the entrance ceremony and he's made one friend, maybe saved Juumonji from death and now has to dodge a demon on the school grounds for the next three years.

Which was now near impossible because he just had an episode in front of the demon. He's been having them more often than not. Sometimes they're not that bad. He read about how breathing and exercise helped with it. Running in the park helped. Sometimes they were bad enough that Sena couldn't tell whether he was in his bed at home or lying in the middle of the dark street with lights  _flashing everywhere, red eyes watching him from-_

 _No_. Not again. He didn't need another episode.

He couldn't help it. He only saw a small glimpse of Belial on that day, but the demon in Deimon looked too similar. The sharp teeth, the ears, and the green piercing eyes. Those eyes weren't red but Sena was willing to bet whatever was left of his soul that if they were, he would have accidentally ran all the way to Osaka out of fear.

Which he nearly did. Looking back at the episode, Sena couldn't remember what exactly he saw but it was there, weird sounds of metal brushing against metal, a sizzle in his ears, was that a light they  _used in-_

Sena was never sure. He was never sure what he saw when he had those hallucinations. Moments of the crash, of seeing that man and then something that was before he woke up kept swimming in his head. The first two were... obvious but the third made no sense. Did he accidentally wake up during whatever happened before he woke up in the park? He didn't want to think about it. Not when the memories were close to meeting Takeru.  _Not when-_

Not when the demon was the one to shake him out of one. He felt ashamed for being a hassle to the demon. He knew that leaving himself open to be in between a literal demon and Juumonji would cause something like that but damn it, he wasn't going to let Juumonji go through what he had.

And the demon didn't follow Juumonji. _No,_  it was looking for  _Sena_.

Which meant that he was looking for him that day. And that he really was targeted by a demon.

Was this a thing? Maybe Belial sent a demon once every six months to check on his clients? Maybe. Sena certainly didn't know. That could be the case. Or not.

Sena never realized just how little he knew about demons until now.

Did he even work for Belial? There were hundreds of demons in the encyclopedia of the occult club, but what if those were the only ones recorded. Thinking about it made Sena break out in a cold sweat.

Sena sighed. No peace for him this school year it seemed. Whatever, he could survive this. Or at least pretend to survive this. Then again if he's already dead then how-

Sena did not notice he was at the clubhouse before the door nearly hit him in the face.

' _That was close._ ' He didn't want a repeat of last time. His forehead still hurt from back then.

"Kurita-san?" Sena hastily opened the door into the clubhouse. He never realized just how messy the small space was. It was shocking, really. Spare uniforms, extra gear and other miscellaneous things concerning american football were lying haphazardly everywhere.

Kurita himself was sitting behind a foldable table.

"Sena! You're here!" Kurita almost jumped out of the chair he was sitting in.

It made Sena wonder,  _how come?_

"Of course! I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner, there was a friend of mine, well he's not really a friend- he wanted to talk but it went way longer than I thought it would and-" Sena was rambling now. "What I want to say is, I'm sorry for being late!"

"It's okay, you're here in the very least." Kurita replied, far happier than he used to be. "Besides, Hiruma seemed pretty adamant about you joining as well. He even went out to get you when you were late."

Sena mentally kicked himself in the face. He's not a hateful person but by god, Juumonji seemed to have a built in _"Time to ruin Sena's day"_  radar.

"Oh." Sena couldn't hide his disappointment. Kurita seemed to notice that but not mention anything. He... he really was looking forward to meeting Hiruma. Or at least see his face. Speaking of faces.

"By the way, what does Hiruma look like? You two must have known each other for a while."

"We have! We've known each other since middle school, we even created the Maou middle American football club together!" Kurita was shining like the sun now. Sena couldn't help but smile as well. Kurita's joy seemed to be infectious. Maybe this Hiruma guy was nice. Maybe Mamori was right, Deimon might be better.

For once, Sena feels hope. It's a nice feeling.

"Even though Hiruma is very harsh and eccentric, he's scary intelligent and motivated. I've seen him take apart hundreds of broken phones and fix all of them with my own eyes." Kurita continued.

" _Whoa_."

"Yes, whoa indeed." Kurita nodded. "But less about Hiruma and more about why you're here."

Sena nearly blushed in embarrassment. He's here to join the American football team, crush or no crush, damn it.

"Right. The manager position."

"And runningback position." Kurita added. Sena got curious.

"Kurita-san, if I can ask, what positions are there in American football. It's a team sport but I don't know much about it." Sena took a seat and stared at the second year with curious eyes.

Kurita himself looked like today was the best day he has had in a while. Sena made note of that.

Maybe today wasn't so bad.

He stood corrected when the door slammed open with a blond demon on the other side.

* * *

Had Sena known what would have happened in nine months time, how he somehow ended up meeting his maker, slapping him across the face and now sitting in a shower with 10 bags of frozen vegetables, with stitches on his face and a sirloin stake taped to his forehead as twelve or so demons listen to him rant about how horrid his love life was, how he regretted everything he ever did in his life and how he didn't know if he wanted to turn back time and live peacefully because he'd rather not have it any other way. How the demons sitting in the bathroom with him look at him with looks of understanding, pity and mixed feelings because apparently, look upon him - he's pathetic, rotting from the inside out, and mourning the death of the person he feared for almost one and a half years, as though that person was so close to him. They came to kill him for revenge, but he himself is suffering enough as it is. Killing him would be counter productive. So now everyone is watching him wallow in hate and sorrow as he holds a tub of mint ice cream like a child.

Had Sena known what would have happened, he would have never applied for Deimon. Which was probably a lie.

"So that's how you met your first lover? Harsh."

"First off, he's not my lover. None of them are. I'm pretty sure they don't love me. Like me, yes. Love, not so much. Second, actually, Yamato was first."

"The half demon gets first place because by demon law, you two are almost married."

"Please don't make this anymore complicated than it already is."

"Fuck you, Sena of the house Kobayakawa. Now keep going, what happened after that?"


	4. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sena witnesses the amefuto club, gets dragged into doing things that burn his nerves and the Sena Protection Squad is founded

It's been two days since the beginning of the school year, students are already going to school yet Sena is still reeling from what happened after the entrance ceremony.

Frankly because the Hiruma he was eager to meet was the same demon that scared him out of his wits. Because he just signed up for two years of being near him for several hours. Because-

Hiruma gave off warning signs that Sena kept trying to ignore. Because Sena could not figure out how to approach the problem.

On one hand, Hiruma didn't come off as human. He held fire arms with relative ease, was insanely smart, had more than half the town  _(if not half of Tokyo)_  blackmailed and refused to be anything less than the tower of authority in the room. Sena wondered if it was the contract or something, but he's developed a radar based on goosebumps and the feeling of something menacing entering the room or the building in general.

On the other hand, Hiruma treated him better than anyone he's ever met, minus Mamori.

Then again the term " _better_ " could be used loosely. But it's there. He looks at Sena like he's there, in the present and not some apparition that's just meant to do something. He looks at him with a sharpness that Sena has only seen a few people in his class do, and none of them were directed at him.

He looks at Sena like he's human, an actual person with skills and potential, not some lackey that could be treated as less.

Sena finds it hard to focus when he does.

Everything about Hiruma seems  _inhuman_. His looks, his personality, his behavior, his methods, his intelligence and his enthusiasm about American football.

But Sena's never felt so  _human_  around anyone else.

It's a nice feeling. It reminds him of how Takeru looked at him and saw something _brave, honest and-_

He didn't want to finish that thought, his heart might explode.

So now, Sena is standing at the field, watching practise begin in a football jersey with the number 21, because he had blacked out of fear two days ago and had, as Hiruma told him, "fallen over like a Victorian novel heroine on the table and nearly bashed his head in, effectively destroying his last braincell."

Sena remembered that differently.

But apparently, he was now applying for both the manager and the runningback position.

Sena had asked Kurita if he ever agreed. Kurita said to ask Hiruma and he'll understand. Sena did  _not_  ask Hiruma, if he did, his already fluctuating view of him would be gone with the wind.

So now Sena was standing in the field and watching equipment being dragged out.

He'd desperately tried to smother the small sparks of anxiety he felt. He couldn't feel calm around Hiruma. Frankly, Sena would argue that being near him and talking to him was undoubtedly the most courageous thing he has done in five years.

The fact that Hiruma kept sparing glances at him was not helping. His legs were bouncing on their soles, the burn in his legs was slowly spreading and he wanted to do something, anything to make it feel less like his extremities were shoved in a toaster.

Was he waiting for him to do something? To train with them? No with a capital N.

If it's one thing Sena knew about his lack of bones, it's that there were more cons than pros. Sure enough, he was lighter, very much flexible and faster. Sena had always been fast but sometimes he felt like the ground beneath him disappeared and he was flying, his body almost  _morphing with the wind._  His loins hurt like never before after moments like those. Probably because of the realization that he'd ran faster than cars and jumped over fences at some point.

But even with the raw, burning feeling of absolute freedom the run gave him, none of them made up for what they took. First off, everything hurt. Punches started hurting more and sometimes his own small weight hurt the soles of his feet in the morning. The force of some bumps reverberated in his body like sound bouncing off of walls. It left a noise in his head, like a whistle going higher and higher.

It's like someone took his already high agility and raised it to one hundred and twenty, while dropping his constitution to almost zero.

Mamori once even saw him do a backwards bridge to avoid being hit with a stray ball heading towards him.

It just showed how inadequate he was for sport if his survival instinct made him avoid the ball.

"Earth to shrimpcake!"

Sena jumped out of his thoughts, noticing that Hiruma was standing in front of him and looking into his eyes.

_'Be still, my nervous heart._ ' Sena thought weakly as he noticed that Hiruma's eyes were green. Not an olive shade or deep emerald, no, they were a light shade of green, with a hint of blue or maybe purple. If Sena had to compare, it resembled the seafoam of the ocean in an early cold morning, as the sun had shown just on the horizon, when his family had gone out to visit the beach during a hot summer weekend.

Sena could get lost in those eyes for days.

"Are you done cooking in the sun? You look like you're five seconds away from being well done."

Sena couldn't really respond to that.

"Anyway, get in position, time to run the forty yards." Hiruma gestured to the cones lined up on the field.

"Wait!" Sena exclaimed. "Do I really have to try out for the runningback position? I- I don't think I'm suitable-"

Sena's words were cut short as Hiruma pointed his gun at Sena, right between the eyes.

"Them what's your excuse?"

"I- I'm not good at sports."

"Nobody is good at sports, but there's tons of people who are good at faking it. Now move it. Whether or not you're suitable for the position will be shown on the field. I have a hunch that you're just perfect for this position."

"And if I don't qualify?" Sena mustered up a weak defense.

"Then you'll train until you're qualified. No more questions? Good, now mush!"

It almost seemed like Hiruma was intent on keeping an eye on Sena, much to his absolute horror.

And with that Sena was standing on the white line with Hiruma by his side and with Kurita holding a stopwatch forty yards from him.

Sena wanted to genuinely die for what seemed to be the third time that week.

Eh, not exactly record breaking but still.

"On my mark, you run to the fatass like you're going die if you don't."

"But what if I'm already dead?" Sena asked, trying not to jump out of his own skin.

"You've got a working brain, don't you?"

"Debatable but yes."

"Then you're alive. Now ready!"

Sena hastily got into a running position. There was clearly no arguing with Hiruma and Sena instinctively knew, that if he tried to press any further, there would be hell to pay.

"Set!" There was a sudden sound of a gun being cocked. And Sena's bones had turned ablaze.

_"YA-HA!"_

Suddenly there's a loud bang and Sena all but flew off like a torpedo. It feels like barely a moment when Sena realizes he had already gone past Kurita and tried slows down. Key word  _tried._

The sudden skidding halt made him slip and fall into the soft grass. The collision was painful, knocked the air out of him and Sena is once again reminded why he hates sport of any kind. He promptly realized that the grass was rather soft. Maybe he could wait out-

"4.15 seconds! Sena, that's amazing!"

Or maybe not. The universe demands that after six months of borderline isolation,  _now_  is the time to make up for lost time.

Kurita was now picking him up with little to no difficulty. Sena meekly looked at him, then at the stopwatch.

00.04.15. It looked more like a date in the past than his time. Sena knew he was fast, even before the whole mess he had gotten into. Somebody had tried to rope him into the track club but he was so focused on either completing errands or just avoiding people in general that they must have forgotten about it. The missing bones only made him faster. A near sixth of his weight was gone and that made it so much easier for his muscles to go faster. Or rather it was easier to run nowadays. Less weight for the muscles to propell but still having the foundation. It made him fast. Faster than most humans.

"Jackass landing you did there but we'll beat some balance into you! A whole half a millisecond faster than that damned Shin! You hear that, shrimpcake?"

"I hear but I do not understand." Sena managed to force out.

"It means you qualify with flying colours. Welcome to hell, little midget!" A hand went through his hair, ruffling and messing it up. It was like a shock, a pleasant shock. He's...  _never_  really been ruffled like that. Head ruffles and slung over arms were friendly gestures that Sena... hadn't really experienced a lot. Not since Riku left. But this-  _this was nice._  This was like diving into the ocean during a blistering hot day. Refreshing yet shocking. Relieving yet  _energizing_.

Maybe the American football club wasn't that bad.

* * *

Sena took back every good thing he ever said about the American football club. This was hell on earth and Hiruma was running the show almost by second nature.

After being quite literally dragged out to practice every day, Sena has learned of horrors he never knew existed.

First off, dogs that small should not be so terrifying. How Hiruma managed to find a hell hound like that was beyond him, the dog being named Cerberus did nothing to help.

Second of all, months of isolation makes you miss out on gossip and rumors that could make you avoid people. Most had a reputation. Schools had reputation. Not Hiruma Yoichi. Hiruma  _was_  the school reputation as it seemed.

Threatening via firearms, blackmailing, even accounts of borderline torture. If Sena somehow had had doubts about Hiruma being a demon, his belief was now solidified.

But some things just didn't add up. Sena had looked up some demons, thanks to the Maou middle occult club. In the books, most barely looked human, showed immense strength and radiated ferocity. Not Hiruma.

Hiruma was inhuman, very much so, but Sena was getting the impression that he was a weird demon. Just in the same way there were weird humans who were able to do things on inhuman levels, there seemed to be weird demons who did things on human levels.

While Hiruma's intelligence was impeccable, terrifying even, Sena realized he was lacking in the physical department. Which frankly confused him.

American football was a sport which demanded physical prowess and specialization.

Hiruma was almost painfully average. He thanked Kurita for being a saint and telling him everyone's stats, even if he was blind to the bloodshed that was training time. Hiruma's forty yards were done in 5 seconds and a spare millisecond. His throw had a sixty percent accuracy rate. Hiruma himself looked like a twig with muscles. Skinny but lean, not that Sena was _looking, no, he was not._

The strangest thing was that Hiruma, a demon, was living among humans. He was a student, he was the captain of a club, he had a dog, he had a house, he bought groceries and he had a schedule. For Sena, who had thought of demons as larger than life, this would never not be shocking.

Unless... Hiruma himself was an outcast among demons. If demons had functions like humans in terms of countries, was Hiruma an outcast because he was wasn't like anyone else in hell? Did they even live in hell or were they living in hiding?

But none the less, it would have made sense if Hiruma was an outcast among demons. He couldn't fit the mold with his own kind but he seemed to be enjoying time with humans, if he was willing to stick to rules of their society.

It made Sena somehow worry for him. If Hiruma was an outcast, was it because he was a runt? Sena had only seen Hiruma chew bubblegum and maybe drink cola, when he and Kurita were out scouting for extra players. It made him worry for Hiruma. He never saw him eat and sometimes wondered if he lived in the clubhouse. Was he not eating enough? Maybe he didn't know how to cook?

Which lead to Sena doing the impossible. Asking his mother to teach him how to make bento.

To which he was met with a blank but surprised look. And maybe he was also surprised at himself, because this meant he was actually pursuing his crush. Somehow. Was Takeru still his crush?

"I- I think that now that I'm in highschool, I should at least start trying to be an adult and there might be times when you need to be out of town for the morning or-" Sena was rambling as he was trying to stare at the floor in earnest. He felt a little red from embarrassment, considering that he was going to make lunch for himself and his apparently second crush. It wasn't that he was afraid of his parents, no, but he felt like he was being selfish. Or that he was asking too much, he had tried to keep to himself so much it worried his parents. Taking in a deep breath, he began again. "I, I don't want to keep worrying you or Mamori. I can't be a kid forever, plus I need to-" say it, say it, " I need to start taking control of my life-"

Before he could finish, his mother grabbed him in an almost bone crushing hug.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" Sena asked as he hugged back. Hugs from his mother was something he was used to, despite her hard headed personality but this one felt different.

"No. Everything is fine. I'm just- happy, that's all." His mother pulled away. "Besides, it's time you finally learned your way around the kitchen."

So now Sena was standing outside the clubhouse, one bento awkwardly in hand and his own stuffed in his bag. He felt like he was being steamed alive.

Oh  _god, what was he doing?! What if this was a big mistake and he'd just come across as weird or something? How was he supposed to give this to him?! 'Hey, I've never seen you eat in front of me so I made you a bento because I'm both worried about you and I want to show you affection because we're somewhat alike?'_

Sena considered bailing. But then he'd be wasting food.

_Wait,_  how did demons show affection? If Hiruma's way of showing praise was to kick somebody, how does one show affection? But he did curse a lot. And sometimes smacked him over the head and shot him. For some reasons, Hiruma used rubber bullets on him and normal ones for...everyone else. But that didn't make it any less terrifying.

Wait, maybe that's it! Sena should speak in a way that Hiruma would be most comfortable with. In curses. That might do something.

So he gathered all the courage in his veins, ignored the burning joints and entered the clubhouse.

Hiruma was sitting at the table, typing away while Kurita was looking over uniforms.

Hiruma had looked away from the laptop and his eyes drifted to the bento in his hands.

"Eating more? Good, we can't have an uncooked noodle as a runningback."

Sena took a deep breath and shoved the bento right into Hiruma's face.

"Says the bamboo twig quarterback. Do you know how thin you are? Eat, you bastard." Sena exclaimed and ran out of the clubhouse.

* * *

That was arguably the worst thing he had done to date, because afterwards Hiruma started using real bullets. Sena could dodge them, yes, but he didn't know why he suddenly changed them. Truth be told, it's like he was slowly getting more dangerous with him. Making Cerberus chase him across an obstacle course, kick him when he managed to get Ishimaru on the team for the first match of the season and sometimes squishing his face just painfully enough to get his point across.

For some reason, Hiruma was also keen on small acts of physical contact. It was something that was hard to get used to.

He gave back the empty bento at after school practice, telling him that the meat could have been spicier and to add more fibers if he was eating the same.

So technically a win?

Either way, Sena was now making Hiruma lunch on a daily basis for some reason. It felt...nice. To care for someone. He was still terrified of Hiruma, there were a lot of things that terrified him, but this was somehow their routine now. A terrifying, nerve racking routine which kept testing Sena's will to live.

How Mamori hadn't noticed his stress was due to his impeccable skills of hiding the truth.

"You know, Sena, Hiruma is surprisingly nice to you." Kurita had said one day when they were putting equipment away. Hiruma had made him help Kurita because he "needed to grow some god damn arm strength before the first match".

"Nice?" Sena found it hard to believe. It seemed more like Hiruma was trying to beat a backbone into him or some form answer out of him. He kept looking at him like he wanted to ask something. Or maybe torture an answer out of him. Whatever demons do to get information.

"Yeah! It's hard to tell but he can be kind in his own way. You're the first new member we've had in almost a year!" Kurita exclaimed.

Now that Sena had thought about it, recently people have started to avoid him.

Maybe demons showed kindness in their own way, but Sena didn't know how. There were hundreds of things that Sena had thought but none that he knew about demons.

So all he could do now was accept it as it was. Hiruma was making him come out of a shell that he had put himself in. Sure, he was dragging him against his will in a way but...

Sena hadn't had fun doing any type of sport in a long time. Except now.

"I...guess he sort of is."

* * *

Life always finds a way to make Sena's life difficult no matter what.

This time it came in the form of Mamori, a lost bottle of concealer and the Cupids' match. The first match in the entire season was going terrible for both teams. The Devilbats were all substitutes from other teams and the Cupids were just plain  _bad._  It was almost painful for Sena to watch, but he had to keep the camera focused on the match for now, which meant looking at this mockery of a sport. Sena didn't feel that strong about amefuto but you didn't need an expert to understand how badly they were playing.

Then Ishimaru sprained his ankle. Out of everyone, Sena had recruited Ishimaru and for some reason felt responsible for him. He was originally part of the track team and Sena made it his responsibility to make sure Ishimaru came back with only miniscule bruises, due to amefuto being such a tackle based game.

So naturally, when the referee blew for a pause, Sena grabbed the med kit that was prepared just in case and nearly bolted to Ishimaru. Just barely keeping a human running pace because Hiruma would shoot his brains out if he compromised the secret identity of Eyeshield 21.

He had to thank Mamori for teaching him how to treat sprained and twisted ankles in the last moment.

Ishimaru himself was fine, but he couldn't continue playing.

So somebody had to step in as runningback. Sena didn't need to look at Hiruma to know who it had to be.

"Should I get that guy?" Sena asked warily. Hiruma had barked out a yes and "demanded" him to go get extra tapes just in case. The last part was a lie but still.

Uniform, gear, helmet and eyeshield on, Sena rummaged for the concealer.

And just when Sena was about to make a run to the bathroom to hide the increasingly bright tatoo, he realized he had forgotten his concealer at home.

Panic had never been so prominent in Sena's life before. He had a coat of concealer and foundation on him at the moment, yes, but there was no guarantee it wouldn't melt during the match or a tackle into the dirt would smudge it off.

This wouldn't be a problem if Mamori wasn't there. Hiruma seemed keen on keeping his identity a secret, if the green eyeshield and demand to not change in front of the temporary teammates was anything to go by. And frankly, Sena would agree.

Not only because he didn't have the confidence of showing his face in front of dozens of people who were watching, but also because Mamori was one of the people watching.

When Mamori heard that he had joined the american football club, she immediately assumed he went for the manager or secretary position. While he would have loved being able to be the manager, Sena knew that if he struggled in math and analysis then that spot was out the window. So he was on secretary duty. "Technically". But Mamori didn't have to know that. Not yet at least.

But the problem wasn't in the fact that Mamori would be able to see him, no, the problem was that she would be able to see his tattoo. Mamori was part of the student council, for god's sake, if she saw that one of the students had a tattoo she'd go berserk or, worse,  _stop the match._

_Shit, shit, shit, shit._

If Sena's bones felt like they were being when Ishimaru got injured, then now they felt like a bonfire.

Sena couldn't stay cooped up here but he couldn't risk anyone seeing the tattoo.

But the match...

"Oh, who am I kidding? I've pretty much got nothing else to lose." Sena sighed as he left the changing room. Outside, Cerberus was waiting. "Maybe you could kill me and I could avoid public humiliation, or better yet, the entire match?"

Cerberus growled at him.

"Okay, okay- I'm going, see? I'm going towards the field, no need to-" and then Cerberus lunged at him.

Sena ran like a freight train.

* * *

Sena was hurriedly putting on clothes as he was mumbling curses under his breath.

The match went well, great even! He had fun, his team won, none of his concealer got smudged and he managed to play the nigh impossible role of an American football superstar without anyone questioning it. Mamori hadn't questioned the presence of the sudden new teammate. Instead she questioned where Sena was.

Which lead to Eyeshield 21 saying he was going to fetch him, while Sena was hurriedly putting on his uniform and trying to look more or less presentable.

He got prepared in the last minute and Mamori was less than pleased.

His ruffled appearance and out of breath state no doubt reminded her of that time six months ago and Sena couldn't help but feel guilty.

So he spoke his mind.

"I- I like it here, Mamori. I really do. Maybe I joined because you told me to or because I got interested but I like it. I'm beginning to like American football and-" Sena took a deep breath, putting all the confidence he had into one sentence. "And I'm going to stay. I don't want to burden you forever. I don't want you to worry over me. You're in your second year and soon it'll be your third. When that time comes, you have to focus on your future. Mamori, you- you're great. Amazing. And you deserve better than this. Better than-"

Better than sticking around for a corpse which would soon be gone.

Mamori looked between him and Hiruma, who was no doubt burning holes into the side of Sena head.

"...They're not bullying you, right? Because if what happened six months ago happens again-"

Now Hiruma was really interested.

"That was six months ago!" Sena tried to object. It was a lie, what happened still felt like it happened yesterday and Sena knew that no matter how many strides he took in recovery, it'll be a part of him in the worst way. Quite literally.

"And- Besides! I- I want to at least try and do something better. With myself at least."

Mamori's face was tied between worry and pride but then she saw Hiruma and-

Well that's an explanation on its own.

"Alright. I can't force you to leave something you're invested in... But if anything happens-" Mamori started.

"Nothing will happen!" Sena tried to assure her. "When has anyone from the amefuto club ever been harassed?"

The question was less of a question and more of a weak defense. The reason why nobody from the club was harassed was because Hiruma was in the club. And the only other person was Kurita. He couldn't imagine what sort of monster would harass or bully him. Or what sort of fearless fool decided to bet his life with the devil.

Mamori all but sighed.

"Alright. I...guess I can't smother you forever either. But I'm still your sister, alright?"

Sena smiled for what seemed to be the first time in a long time.

"Yeah. Can't change that."

Sena wanted to be happy. He really did. But he wasn't sure if he could actually get it.

But the past few days have been okay.

And maybe- maybe one day Mamori would be able to live carefree, without worrying about a dead brother.

A part of Sena whispered that he wasn't doing this for himself, but to finally let Mamori be free.

He was an anchor, a weight on her shoulders, he just knew it. But he didn't want to say it.

No, because by next year, Mamori would hopefully forget about him and Sena could one day finally go back to what he should have been six months ago.

_Dead_.

"But- then what's keeping you here?"

Ah, the eternal question that brought Sena out of his depressing musings.

"Nothing!" Hiruma suddenly appeared behind Sena patting him on the back. Sena leaned a small amount into the hand. "Sena's place is here, no one is making him stay. There's no doubt about his place as the manager and secretary, but with the added workload of a manager, it might be a bit too much. If only we had someone who could take the role of manager."

Sena wondered why Hiruma was suddenly so... sentimental-

Wait. No, he wouldn't.

* * *

Sena realized he had spoken far too soon.

Far, far too soon.

Because nothing could have been as shocking as hearing the news of Mamori being their new manager. As it turned out, being part of the student committee didn't give anyone a lot of extra credit or brownie points unless it was from a well known school.

Deimon was not a well known school.

Sena cursed himself.

And maybe Belial, too.

Either way, Sena was still wondering who their next opponents were. When Sena had stared at the ranking sheet for too long, Hiruma had conjured up a lighter and promptly lit the paper on fire. Sena was having trouble finding additional information.

Kurita had been overjoyed due to the recent developments and Sena couldn't really bring himself to let the shock win over the second year's infectious mood. Even if it was a bit... unusual.

No person could be that happy just from a victory, right?

"Now that the first match is over, who are we fighting next?" Sena mused, looking over the slightly charred piece of paper.

"Let's ask Hiruma." Kurita suggested.

"The Oujo White Knights." Hiruma responded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Sena barely willed himself not to scream.

He wouldn't dare say that his amefuto knowledge was great but being around Kurita and Hiruma certainly expanded it.

And as far as he knew, the Oujo White Knights were a near legendary team.

And they were their second opponents.

Sena sighed into his hands. Maybe he was over thinking it.

* * *

Mamori watched as Hiruma was looking over the window. He was watching teh other players leave, after everything that had happened. The match, her becoming the secretary.

But she wondered why Hiruma of all people wanted her to stay behind and talk about "manager duties".

She knew it was a lie but the seriousness of his so called proposal to talk about it was something worth questioning.

"Hiruma, we both know manager duties isn't why you called me here." Mamori started as Hiruma sat down in front of her. The table was small but enough for both of them to keep their privacy. All that was on the table was his laptop.

"It's about Sena." Hiruma said, opening his laptop, tapping away. "What exactly happened six months ago?"

Mamori's mood immediately soured. Of course, leave it to Hiruma to want to know every single detail.

But the question itself meant that  _Hiruma-_

_Hiruma didn't know._

And that's what made Mamori so high strung.

Six months ago, she had obviously suspected Hiruma as the culprit but she couldn't understand why. They, the football team, were busy with the fall tournament that month, and even if they lost, they still were putting their all into it.

Plus, she had almost no connections with the football club at the time.

He couldn't have done it because he wanted to have leverage over Mamori, because there would have been no leverage to gain.

But she still had her resentment towards him.

Today proved to be... different.

Sena seemed comfortable with Hiruma. Sure, he was terrified, who wasn't, but he still gave the same amount of willingness to actually talk to someone. It was-

It was good change of pace.

And it showed that Hiruma couldn't have been the culprit.

Yet a small part of Mamori hoped he knew. Not from her or Sena, but from whatever sources he had. Hiruma had a knack for having eyes everywhere. But if he didn't know, then Mamori's own private investigation would be going as dry as ever.

"You mean you don't know?" Mamori asked. Hiruma merely raised his eyebrow.

"Know what?" There he went again with his mind tricks. But Mamori knew the issue was too serious to be joked around.

"I...honestly don't know myself." Mamori admitted. "Nobody really knows. All I know is that something happened. Something bad enough to hurt him to the core. He told his parents one version but then he told me a completely different thing. It doesn't add up and he's been scared of the street ever since. But why do you need to know so bad?"

The rhythmic tapping stopped.

"Because Sena was terrified when he saw me."

Mamori almost slapped herself.

"So? Everyone is. We had an entire anti-Hiruma club in first year."

"I'm saying he was terrified not because of my reputation. He was terrified of my face." Hiruma gestured to his face.

Wait.

"When was this? What day did that happen?"

"On the day when the entrance exam results were given."

Of course. Of course, that was that day, when Sena had somehow gone MIA for a while before he called to tell her. He had accidentally took a football to the face, fell unconscious and had to be taken to the nurse's office.

"That was you!?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Hiruma said.

"Yoh know what, forget it. Sena didn't know about you. I didn't tell Sena about you until a few days ago. When he said he joined a club." Mamori was connecting mental dots with an alarming speed.

"That means whatever happened that day, or whatever, had to have involved someone. Someone who had some cosmetic feature that I had."

"Which means Sena lied about not seeing who his attacker was." Mamori concluded, dread pooling in her stomach.

"Attacker?" Hiruma asked, voice dripping with poison and curiosity.

"Sena told his parents he was mugged by someone who tried hitting him with a car several times. But Sena told me that he had accidentally bumped into a gang of thugs from a different school who then tried to harass him."

"So we're either looking at vehicular manslaughter or domestic disturbance." Hiruma mumbled over his breath, just loud enough for Mamori to hear. The words "domestic" and "manslaughter" should never belong in a sentence. Especially if it's Hiruma speaking the sentence.

"Please don't say it like that." Mamori groaned. "But that means we have a lead."

"We?"

"You asked me to stay so you could find out about what happened six months ago, didn't you? So do I. I don't like your methods or your ways, but if finding out what happened to Sena would bring me closer to helping him, then let's call it a truce. For now." Mamori stretched out her hand towards Hiruma.

"So you want to join up to find out what happened to shrimpcake? You're making a deal with the devil." Hiruma closed his laptop, eyeing her hand.

"But so do you. I'm not going to ask why. It's probably your desire to know everything in this city." Mamori replied. She gestured to her hand once more.

Hiruma looked at her for a moment before taking her hand and shaking it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .: I desperately wanted to shove in the Oujo match in this chapter so I could introduce Monta sooner but yhat feels like a separate chapter on its own.


End file.
